Fitness Advice and How To Sort the Good From the Bad

By Maurice Bright – The thing about advice is most times it’s given without you even having to ask for it, either taking you by pleasant surprise or bringing upon lingering skepticism. Is all advice good? Is all of it bad? In my opinion, advice typically comes in three forms. It can be subjective, very helpful or blatant poppycock; you just have to keep an open, rational mind ready to soak in any mental gems that may manifest.

When it comes to fitness advice especially, ALWAYS look for warning signs and stay forever curious to learn more in the process. I don’t care if the advice is coming from a family member, longtime friend, personal trainer or even me, ask questions and analyze the guidance given to you right down to the last letter.

Warning signs appear in many different shapes and sizes, for instance an individual claiming a body part NEEDS a certain exercise to be built up effectively is a warning sign. Yes, we all know deadlifts are king of their respective kingdom and can help build a sick, nasty back but are they absolutely necessary for optimal back gains? No. I’ve seen gentlemen and gentle ladies (new lingo, yes indeed!) acquire and maintain grade A back development utilizing rack pulls and an assortment of other exercises with the absence of deadlifts in their programming.

As I stated before, keep an open mind people; there isn’t just one way things can be done. Another example of a warning sign is when an individual supplies you with advice, you respond with doubtful rebuttal and they get rude. By rude I mean dialect like “You don’t know anything, trust me.” Or “I have a certification in this field so you should not be questioning me about this, please shut up.” No matter who you are, you MUST provide some form of a logical statement or proof of any claim you’re making for there to be credibility present. People think they can just spew out whatever they want and their status solidifies it as right no that is not how it is. Always look for proof in that sweet, sweet pudding folks!

As for being forever curious, if someone states, “You can’t confuse a muscle, it’s impossible because it only knows tension.” Question them about that statement and see if they provide you with either a logical statement or proof. If either is given, continue to relish in that knowledge and eagerly dig deeper and deeper into the topic. Good fitness advice comes from individuals providing proof, options and welcoming your skepticism no matter what.

I’m not telling you to automatically banish unfavorable fitness advice and never give it a chance to prosper or blurt out “Show me the data!” whenever you can but I am saying it is wise to be open to lessons but not foolish and stay curious about the world as long as you’re living in it. Knowledge is power and when that knowledge is shared efficiently and the right way, power is multiplied.

Let’s all get a lot more powerful…

Maurice Bright is an ISSA certified personal trainer who also manages his own health and fitness website, mauricebright.com in hopes to inform, educate, motivate and inspire whenever possible.